


Journey Down the Labyrinth

by raven_fair_slytherclaw



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, Battle, Crossover, Death Eaters, F/M, Hall of graves, Implied abuse, Kissing, M/M, Medusa - Freeform, Mirror of Erised, Quartet, Quidditch World Cup, Riddle Me This, Tempus - Freeform, Thanatos - Freeform, The Dark Mark, brave Draco, continuing the quest, goddess Aletheia, healing Draco, mountains of pencils, old family friends, sphinx, spy Draco, stymphalian birds, the adventure is just beginning, the veiled doorway, twisted courtroom, wands vs swords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-16 07:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16081067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raven_fair_slytherclaw/pseuds/raven_fair_slytherclaw
Summary: When long-held perceptions start to be questioned, Harry is thrown into a word of myths and heroes. There, he meets a couple demigods and finds out that the world is a lot larger and stranger than what he always believed it to be.——————————————————————This was a writing challenge for the Potterotica writing group Pen15 is Mightier. The theme for this challenge was a Harry Potter crossover (any) and a minimum of 3,000 words.I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, separately and respectively.





	1. Chapter 1

Harry felt exhilarated. It was the most intense match he had ever seen and definitely the largest in scale. Watching the Quidditch World Cup had been amazing from the Ministers box. The only thing that could have made it better was if the Malfoys hadn’t been there.

 He couldn’t place his finger on it, but something was wrong. Mr. Malfoy had been calm enough, but Draco had kept on fidgeting and taking glances in his direction. In fact, it looked like Draco had wanted to tell him something. When he would move too much, Mr. Malfoy would place a hand on his forearm and Draco would flinch as if in pain. Yes, something was definitely up — he just didn’t have a clue as to what that might be.

They were finally able to reach their campground through the throngs of spectators beginning to celebrate Ireland’s victory. Ginny and Hermione were walking with their arms around each other, whispering and giggling about something. Ron and the twins were loudly expounding on how wonderful Krum had been during the match, even though Bulgaria had lost.

“Here we are,” said Mr. Weasley. “I’m going to get a fire started with...”

“They’re called matches Mr. Weasley,” Hermione said bemusedly.

To everyone’s surprise he ignored her and continued to stare off to the side at the back of the group. Everyone turned to see what he was looking at.

“What are you doing here Malfoy?” spat Ron.

Clearing his throat, “I came to talk with you Mr. Weasley. If I may?”

“Yes Draco. Follow me inside,” he said, gesturing to the front flaps of the tent. “The rest of you stay out here and don’t wander off.”

With that, both of them disappeared inside the canvas of a very small tent — which was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. Though everyone tried, no one could hear anything that was being said inside.

Decision made, Harry started to make his way toward the tent.

“Harry,” Ginny warned. “Dad said to stay out here.”

“I know. But I figure I’m not family — he won’t actually try to kill me if I disobey.”

She paused in saying anything more while the rest of the brothers were all nodding their solemn agreement. Mr. Weasley was rarely stern, but when he was, they all usually obeyed.

Entering the tent without announcing himself, he saw Mr. Weasley holding his wand above Draco’s forearm — which was covered in a mass of angry red welts.

“What happened?!” He blurted out, feeling his cheeks heat as they both looked towards him in surprise.

Draco’s face twisted into an angry ugly sneer. Before he could say something no doubt truly vile, Mr. Weasley placed a hand on his shoulder and he miraculously calmed enough that his face showed no emotion. No, the fear and wariness were in his eyes.

“We’ll be finishing our discussion later Draco... and the healing. Right now it’s imperative I go speak with some Ministry personnel.” Reaching the tent entrance he turned back to look at Harry. “Make sure he stays safe Harry.”

“But, Mr. Weasley—“

“He’s family Harry,” he said ardently, “I’ll tell the others to leave you both alone.” And with that he was out of the tent, leaving the two boys.

Shocked, Harry turned to look at his school nemesis. He looked just as shocked at Mr. Weasley’s pronouncement, but also pleased as a soft smile and a bright blush seemed to spread across his face.

Harry couldn’t help but stare. He’d never seen such a soft pleased genuine expression cross Malfoy’s face.

Not knowing what to say, they continued to stare at anything and everything around them, only taking the occasional glance at one another. Harry couldn’t stand the silence much longer. He remembered his initial question.

“What happened to your arm?” he asked softly, still unable to fully look at him.

Malfoy looked ready to argue, but suddenly deflated. “What do you care?”

“We might not get on, but I care whether or not most people get hurt.”

“And you include me in most people, do you?”

Regarding him, he came to a decision. Looking Draco straight in the eyes, he said “I care.”

Doubt washed across his features. It seemed Draco didn’t know quite what to say. When it appeared he was about to finally say something, there was a loud explosion on the outside of the tent.

“I guess people are getting—“

“Potter! We need to get out of here!”

He was surprised to see fear instead of amusement in Draco’s features.

“Why?”

“There’s no time! We need to get Granger and get out of here,” he said urgently. Walking forward, he grabbed a confused Harry’s arm and yanked him out the tent flap.

They were greeted by the backs from the rest of their group, as they stared off into the distance. Another explosion rent the air followed by a burst of flames in the night sky.

*****

 Draco was frantic. All his carefully held secrets were slowly becoming at risk of being revealed. It couldn’t be helped at the moment.

 Still clutching onto Potter’s arm, he spied Granger and pulled them along until they were beside her.

 “Granger, we need to get you out of here.”

 She turned and looked in confusion at Draco, her expression changing to bewilderment as she took in his arm grabbing onto Potter’s.

 Weasley had overheard and turned as well. “She’s not going anywhere with you Malfoy.”

 Desperation clawed at him. He turned beseeching eyes at Potter.

 “You told me that you cared,” he said. “Will you trust me?” He saw brief indecision in his expression before being replaced with determination.

 “Hermione, you need to come with us,” Harry said, briefly glancing him, “it’s important.”

 Draco felt a surge of warmth in his chest at his words. He knew better than to show them however.

 Granger nodded and stepped forward to follow, her trust in Potter almost palpable. Weasley began to follow as well. Draco didn’t say anything when he saw, he knew these three were rarely out of each other’s sight.

He led them through the tangle of tents and people, heading towards the forest. The shouts of joy and celebration soon turned to screams of terror and panic.

He quickened his pace, knowing they had to get as much distance from the throngs of people, who were about to swarm in their panic towards the safety of the forest.

“Where are we going?” murmured Potter.

“What’s going on back there?” demanded Weasley.

“We’re going someplace safer... for all of us.”

Granger was the only one who didn’t say anything, she just continued to follow — all the while looking speculatively at him. She’s the one Draco had to watch out for — if any one of them could figure out the truth, it would be Granger.

They were now deep into the expansive forest that surrounded the large campsite. Visibility was basically nonexistent, but he dared not risk using his wand to light the way — lest it be tracked. It seemed the rest of them had the same idea.

The quartet trudged along in the almost complete blackness of the night. It wasn’t until Draco tripped on a protruding root that he noticed that he a Potter were holding hands. Draco felt pleased that Potter was holding onto his hand willingly and knew that a blush was spreading across his face.

Suddenly, Weasley grabbed Draco by the collar of his robes and forcefully spun him around. Draco felt the bark of the tree digging into his back, as Weasley continued to push at him.

“All right, you git. We’re not taking another step until you tell us what in the bloody hell is going on,” demanded Weasley.

Draco couldn’t help the beleaguered sigh that escaped his lips. It was like Weasley didn’t trust him.

“Ron—“

“I don’t trust him Harry,” he interrupted, mirroring his own thoughts.

He supposes the Draco he’s allowed them to see at school is what they really think of him — they don’t know the truth after all. The problem now is trying to find a way to explain things without giving away all of his secrets.

“They were Death Eaters, weren’t they?” Granger asked softly. Effectively cutting off any type of explanation Draco could have come up with.

“What!?” cried the other boys in unison, staring wide-eyed at each other.

 He stared at her, trying to think up any other explanation to her very astute observation. All she did was look directly at him and lift a blasted eyebrow when he stayed silent.

 He sighed with grim realization of his situation. Clenching his jaw, he nodded once in the affirmative. Grangers eyes seemed to momentarily light up — presumably at being proven correct in her theory — before her gaze to curiously speculative.

 A growl from in front drew his gaze from Grangers as Weasley jerked him hard against the tree, his head knocking on the hard bark. He knew he was bleeding slightly from the wet trickle he felt at the back of his neck.

 “Ron! Stop it!” Harry said, as he grabbed hold of Weasley’s robes and pulled him away from Draco.

 “Come off it Harry. How do you think he knew those explosions were caused by Death Eaters? And we left the rest of my family there!”

 “They’ll be fine.”

 “How could you possibly—“

 “Because your dad went to go warn them,” he said while glancing at Draco. Draco gave a small nod in confirmation.

 As the two started arguing in hushed voices, he reached a hand to the back of his head and felt his fingers turn slick with blood. He grimaced and wiped the blood off as best he could on the tree — no sense dirtying his robes any more than absolutely necessary.

 So engrossed in his task, that he didn’t notice the strange symbol further up the tree beginning to glow. The sound of Granger gasping had him quickly glancing at her, then at what she was looking at.

 All conversation ended as the symbol began to glow a brilliant blinding blue. Suddenly, the ground and forest began to shake all around them, followed by a loud groaning and creaking sound — as if a huge ancient door was being forced open.

 The symbol suddenly changed to a bright violet color before the ground disappeared from beneath their feet.

 Draco gave a startled yell, hearing the others make similar sounds of surprise. Each tried to find purchase, finding nothing but empty air. The big whole they were falling from seemed to brighten slightly the further they fell. Jagged walls with dirt, roots, and rocks seemed to give way to smoother stone — seemingly as if the walls themselves had been paved centuries ago.

 It felt like they had been falling forever, yet unmoving in their descent. The only passage of either time or movement being the lightening darkness and the smoothing of the ground surrounding them.

 They air seemed to change around them — the walls becoming smaller, resembling more a stone-like slide. Draco felt a bump to his shoulder and looked to see Harry trying to find purchase on the stones — presumably to help slow them down. He reached for him, grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He was surprised and delighted that Harry returned the gesture.

 Their fall seemed to be leveling out and the tunnel became more of a slide. Their speed was slowly decelerating and gave Draco a flicker of hope that they might make it out of this alive.

 All through this, he and Harry continued to hold hands, until they were spit out of the tunnel into a large chamber with and elaborate albeit ancient-looking fountain at its center.

 Draco rolled to the side just as two other forms dropped from a hole in the wall. He was a little slow to get up — his previously injured arm and the gash to the head were draining him of his energy.

 Standing, he got his first good look at the chamber they’d fallen into. The walls and floor were cover in millions of tiny, beautifully colored tiles which created an array of swirling mosaics — it made the walls seem like they were alive.

 There were small mirrors displayed around three of the walls. The fourth wall looking as though a large mirror, that had hung there, had been removed after many centuries — Draco could see the outlined shape of what was once there.

 The fountain in the center was to most arresting object in the room, however. The water trickled like musical crystals, down from a round base of one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was standing in a relaxed pose with her long luxurious-looking hair falling artfully all around her — covering be entire body, yet concealing nothing. In one of her hands there was a small hand mirror, curiously, facing outwards towards onlookers.

 Harry came to stand beside him, placing his hand at the small of Draco’s back when he swayed slightly. He must have bled more than he’d thought.

 “Any idea where we are?” murmured Harry. All Draco could do was shrug his shoulders, his guess was as good as any.

 “Something about the statue seems familiar somehow,” Hermione said softly. “But I can’t remember....”

 All of a sudden, shouts could be heard coming from a doorway no one had seem to notice before. Two dusty forms flew through the opening, seeming to do a somersault, before landing on their feet. The doorway they’d come through abruptly vanished — nothing but smooth tiled wall where it had been before.

The two figures — a boy and a girl — turned to look at them warily. The boy was lean, but well muscled and had jet black hair with the most piercing blue eyes Draco had ever seen — he was currently brandishing a sword at them. Instinctively, Draco brought up his wand in a defensive position. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the rest of his group do the same. The girl had rich curly blonde hair and seemed to be brandishing a dagger towards them.

 No one quite knew what to do.

 The blue-eyed boy stepped forward and lowered his sword a fraction. Facing Harry he asked, “Who are you?”

 “I’m Harry Potter,” he said bemusedly. He’d obviously picked up on the other boys’ American accent. “And you?”

 “I’m Percy Jackson.”


	2. Chapter 2

Percy looked at the four people standing in front of him, unsure of who they were or what they wanted. He was also confused as to why they were all pointing tiny sticks at him and Annabeth. The raven-haired one had said his name was Harry Potter — as if he’s supposed to know who in Hades that was.

Equally confusing is the fact that he doesn’t seem to know who he is; even though he’s in the Labyrinth — and Zeus, doesn’t that sound conceited. At least there’s no denying that they aren’t allied with Luke.

Glancing at Annabeth, he gave a small nod and sheathed his sword. He can’t help the surge of amusement when the others see his sword transform into a ball point pen.

He takes in the raven-haired one, _Harry_ , and really gets a good look at him. His strange clothes are covered dirt and debris and there’s a few scratches on his exposed skin. Brilliant green eyes are behind round wire glasses and his hair is even messier than his. He has a strange scar in his forehead, it sort of looks like one of Zeus’ lightning bolts.

Finished with his assessment, he starts examining the blonde-haired boy beside him. He’s in a similarly disheveled state, but he seems to be swaying ever so slightly. He watches Harry place a hand at the small of his back.

Hearing a throat clear, he turns to face the fourth figure who’s mostly hidden behind the tall red-head. “I think it would be best if we all introduced ourselves,” she said primly.

He watches as she steps out from behind the red-head, and is surprised by the pretty face behind the prim voice. He clears his throat. “And you’re...?”

“Hermione.”

“Hermione,” he murmurs softly.

“Ron,” the red-head all but growls, shooting daggers at him.

“And this is Draco,” Harry says, now fully supporting the very pale-looking blonde.

“I’m Annabeth. Is he alright?”

“No,” says Harry, “We need to get him to a healer.”

“I can help with that.”

Eyeing him dubiously, Harry asks, “How?”

“Bring him over to the fountain.”

Percy goes over and sits at the edge of the fountain. Harry helps Draco, but still stays close, not wanting to move too far. He sees Harry frown as he interlaces his fingers with Draco and submerges their hands into the water.

The water is cool to the touch and reinvigorating to Percy after so long wandering around the underground maze. He takes in a deep breath and concentrates. As the water starts to flow up Draco’s arm, he can sense the pain and damage that have been inflicted. The water continues to cover his arm, up over his shoulder and neck, to the back of his head. Draco’s eyes are closed in apparent relief.

Percy calls upon the powers gifted to him by his father, and begins to heal. It doesn’t take long, only a few moments, when Draco shivers and pulls his hand away. He’s rolled up his sleeve and is staring at the newly healed skin, astonishment written all over his face. Harry leans in and grabs Draco’s hand, examining the arm for himself. A blush spreads across Draco’s cheeks, and Percy can’t help but wonder if the two of them are together; they haven’t left each other’s side since they discovered them.

“You’re Greek gods!” exclaims Ron.

“Ron,” scoffs Hermione. “Don’t be ridiculous. The Greek gods are just a myth.”

The ground rumbles slightly and Percy and Annabeth share a fearful glance. They’d been so distracted by the newcomers, that they hadn’t checked to see if this was a temple-like room to one of the deities.

The rumble is short and Percy takes his first opportunity to really take in the room. He quickly fixes upon the effigy at the top of the fountain. It’s a naked goddess holding a hand mirror — and Percy can’t think of who it might be. It was times like these, where he wished he were more into book-learning.

“It’s the goddess Aletheia,” Annabeth states.

“The goddess of truth.”

Everyone turns to face Ron, who blushes furiously at receiving so much attention.

“How did you know that?” asks Hermione.

Glancing at the different faces of his companions, a hurt expression crosses his face.

“Just because you lot don’t think I like to read, doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Harry and Hermione look ashamed at Ron’s pronouncement, whole Draco just lifts a sardonic brow.

Taking a deep breath, he continues. “I think I know where we are. And it’s not the first time a wizard has gotten lost here.”

 *****

 “ _Wizard?_ ” Two incredulous pairs of eyes fastened onto Ron.

“Yes,” Ron began. “And I think I have a way of proving it to both sides.”

Ron turned to Draco and lifted an eyebrow of his own. “Drink some of the water from the fountain.”

“Not bloody likely,” Draco responded, after hearing Annabeth gasp.

Turning to her he asked, “Will it harm him in any way?”

As she shook her head no, he turned back and looked pointedly to Draco. Rolling his eyes, he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and drank from the water.

“Surprisingly refreshing,” he said drily.

Ron couldn’t help but smirk at him. “Did you know Malfoy, that the goddess Aletheia was known as Veritas to the Romans? It’s believed that she was the basis for the potion known as _Veritaserum_.”

Ron took a perverse sense of satisfaction watching Malfoy’s face transform into one of horror.

“How do you know all this, Ron?”

“I read it in a book, Hermione.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” he answered snappishly. “Just because I don’t want to read every book under the sun, does not mean I, in fact, dislike to read.”

Looking abashed, she nevertheless brazened on. “Yes. But. What book? How do you know it’s not fiction?”

“Because the book chose me.”

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?”

“My gran took an ancient family heirloom she felt was her due, before she ran off and married my granddad. For centuries, the book wouldn’t open to anyone, no matter what spells or enchantments they placed on the book. One day, when we visited my grandparents, I was hiding from Percy in the library and stumbled upon the book; and it opened for me. My gran had said it was meant for me and gave me the book.”

“Uh, sorry, but I’ve never met you before today,” said Percy, startling Ron. He’d almost forgotten anyone else was in the room, so focused on his argument with Hermione.

“I have a brother named Percy,” he chuckled. “Short for Percival.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway,” he continued, “in it, there was a history of magical cooperation between wizards and Greek gods. That’s how I know where we are and what they are.”

“The enchantments must have been placed to only reveal the knowledge within to someone who would believe in them. You must have great convictions, Ron....and a noble heart.”

Ron couldn’t help but blush at Annabeth’s words, as well as the appreciative look she gave him. He also noticed how Percy seemed to frown at Annabeth. Hearing a throat clear her turned back to Hermione.

“And how do you suppose to prove your theory?”

“We’re demigods, by the way. Not full gods,” Annabeth stated, completely ignoring Hermione’s question.

“Who are you parents, then?” Ron asked interested.

“My mother is Athena. Percy’s father is Poseidon.”

Ron was mildly surprised at that revelation. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and Poseidon the god of the sea. He wondered if that was how Percy was able to heal Malfoy’s injuries.

Turning back to Hermione, he answered her ignored question. “There are a few things in this chamber that I could use to prove my claim.”

Turning towards the blank spot on the wall, he pointed to the spot with the faded outline. “That is where the Mirror of Erised used to hang.”

“What?” cried Harry, started out of his silence by Ron’s revelation. “How—?”

“Because there was an entry on it in the book. The goddess Aletheia gave it to a cherished mortal, and wizard, as a gift. So that none who gazed into the mirror would be able to hide what their hearts truest desire was — not even from themselves.”

“That’s preposterous,” Hermione murmured, sounding unsure of herself for the efforts time.

“Everything I’ve said it true, Hermione. If you don’t believe me, just ask Malfoy,” Ron gestured to the corner where Malfoy was trying to melt into the wall.

“What do you mean?”

“What he means, Harry, is that if everything he’s said is true, then Malfoy drinking from the fountain would have the same or similar effect that taking _Veritaserum_ would,” she finished, turning to look speculatively at Malfoy.

Malfoy shook his head vehemently from side to side, “No! You have no right— “

“Why did you call me a mudblood in second year? It seemed unnecessarily rude.”

Malfoy pressed his lips together to try to keep from answering, but it seemed the compulsion was too strong, “Because I was trying to make you all hate me,” he burst out, clapping his hand over his mouth afterwards.

They were stunned into silence by his answer. He glanced from person to person, eyes panicked, to see who would ask the next question, it came from Harry.

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t let anyone from Slytherin know that I was helping you.”

“How was calling me a mudblood helpful?”

“Because if I wasn’t positively nasty to a muggle-born in front of them, word would have gotten back to my father. He would have become suspicious.”

“Suspicious of what?”

“Suspicious of why Dobby kept on going missing without father giving him direct orders.”

“Draco,” Harry said sternly. “I think you need to explain from the beginning of our second year, just what it is you did for us....and why you kept it a secret.”

It looked like Malfoy gave another token resistance, but this time, his face went carefully blank and he spoke out in a monotone voice — Ron thought it was very creepy.

“Shortly after I arrived home at the end of our first year, I discovered that my father planned to use a cursed object to harm and/or kill muggle-borns the following year, as well as Harry Potter. I then ordered Dobby to do what he thought was necessary to keep him safe and away from Hogwarts. I had discovered what was hidden beneath the castle in the Chamber of Secrets, but had no way of informing Harry. I couldn’t trust another adult with my knowledge — I never knew who could get word back to my father.

I saw Harry with the Weasley’s at Flourish and Blotts and ripped a page out of a book where I had found out more information on the creature. I intended to give the page to Harry somehow, but my father saw me headed in your direction, so I insulted you instead. Term started. I tried to get word to Harry on his way to detention, but was stopped when caught by Hagrid on his way to speak with Snape.”

“Stop!” cried Hermione, shooting a confused glance at Annabeth, who’d gasped at the last part of the story. “That page you ripped from the book, was it about the basilisk?”

“Yes.”

Ron gave Hermione a bewildered look when she whimpered. “What’s the significance of that?”

“How did you and Harry find out about the basilisk?” she asked softly.

Lowering his brows, Ron thought for a moment. “We found a crumpled page from a book in your petrified— “

Ron cut himself off as understanding dawned. He exchanged astonished looks with Harry and Hermione. “But— “

“I would have never ripped a page out of any book, Ron. I would have just taken the whole book,” she said miserably, facing Malfoy with a guilty expression. “I never wondered how you both figured it out, I was just so glad you did,” she added softly.

Everyone in the chamber remained silent.

After a few moments, Annabeth cleared her throat. “Was he taking about Hagrid the giant?”

“Hagrid’s not a giant,” Ron answered. He eyed Harry as he walked over and put his arm around Malfoy’s shoulders. Harry started to speak to him privately and his features began to look more animated and less corpse-like.

She turned and spoke to Percy, “I think he’s the one who won the Cerberus off of Hades in that poker game a few decades ago.”

“Really?” breathed Percy.

“Are you taking about Fluffy?” asked Ron.

“He named the Cerberus, _Fluffy?!_ ” she asked horrified.

“Three-headed dog that’s vicious — thinks everything is his own personal chew toy?” Ron inquired, looking at them both. Percy nodded his head mutely.

Hermione gave a startled yelp as the ground began to shake again. The rumbling began to worsen, until bits and pieces of tile began to break lose off the walls and ceiling. Dust was floating in the air, making it difficult to see around themselves and at each other. A large square stone came lose and started falling towards Annabeth, who was looking the other way.

“Watch out!” yelled Ron, as he dove forward to push her out of the way. The both landed on the floor with a muffled _oomph_ , the large stone landing inches away from their heads. The ground gave way seconds later and the two of them were falling through the air.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione groaned as she came to and tried to roll to the side. There was something pinning her down onto the floor. She tried to remember what had happened.

The chamber. The fountain. Ron’s mysterious book. Draco’s secrets. The earthquake.

Sighing, she pulled her hands forward to try and pry off the object above her — she didn’t think she’d ever be able to think of him as Malfoy anymore; not after what she’d learned. Her hands connected with something warm, soft, yet firm. Unsure of what it was, she gave a tentative push.

There was a groan at the base of her neck a puff of air. The object — _person_ — moved onto their elbows, and she was suddenly looking into the brilliant aquamarine eyes of Percy Jackson. It was then, she realized, that her hands were pressed against his chest and that he was laying completely on top of her.

Hermione could feel the blush already staining her cheeks worsen as his body started to shake.

“Sorry about that,” grimaced Percy down at her, “but there’s a bunch of stones on my back that I’m holding up.”

“Oh! I can help with that.” Reaching into her left sleeve, she pulled out her wand from her holster. Smiling up at him, he just blinked down in confusion at her.

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ”

The rubble lifted itself off of Percy’s back and floated into the air. With a flick of her wand, the entire pile was stacked to the far end of the wall, in the corridor they seemed to be in.

Percy got up and helped Hermione to her feet. Glancing around, she noticed that the corridor was more a long tunnel. Every surface was covered in what looked like cobblestones, the occasional sconce lighting little. It became so dark the further down she tried to look, that it made the tunnel seem never ending.

“Where are we?”

“In The Labyrinth,” he sighed, glancing first one way, then the other.

“What labyrinth?”

“Daedalus’ Labyrinth.”

All she could do was stare at him wide-eyed and mouth agape. Daedalus’ Labyrinth was an enormous monstrosity that was primarily a death trap to those who didn’t know the way. According to the myths — _which aren’t really myths_ , she thought — the only person who could safely find their way through maze was Ariadne; and that was because she had an enchanted string.

“How do we get out of here?” she asked shakily.

“We don’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we found you, we were on a mission to find the center of the maze. There’s an evil demigod who’s in league with a titan, and he’s hell-bent on destroying our camp.”

“Your camp?”

Nodding, he started walking down the tunnel.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“No.”

“But. How?”

“You sure you can keep up?”

She gave him what she hoped was a determined expression, straightened up, and cast a murmured Lumos. “Try me.”

“Ok,” he said chuckling. He raked his hand through his hair. “I spend most of the year at a camp for half-bloods — demigods. There was this camper, Luke, who went all psycho and join up with the Titan Kronos.”

“Zeus’ father.”

“Yup. Anyway, there’s this ancient rule or something about gods not getting involved themselves with camp half blood — so us demigods are basically the protectors for the camp.”

“And all the demigods live there?”

“Basically. At least the ones who don't have a home to go back to.... or those that haven’t defected.”

“And why is this camp so important — besides the fact that you all live there?”

“Because for most of us, it’s our home. We study and have classes there, we learn healing techniques, as well as hone our combat skills. The ones of us who have been gifted with abilities, go through training to develop those skills so we can use them at will. Not to mention all the monsters.”

“Monsters?” she asked faintly.

Percy nodded. “Yes, us half-bloods smell distinctive to monsters. They want nothing more than to kill us and keep us from camp, where we learn to fight and defeat them. If they could get rid of us in one fell swoop,” he shrugged, “who would be there to protect the mortals from them?”

Hermione thought about everything that he had said. She still had so many questions, but decided to focus on her surroundings instead. She noticed the stones on the walls becoming paler and larger the further they kept walking.

It was getting a little tougher to walk, Hermione noticed, as the stones on the floor seemed to have been replaced with sand. They turned another corner in the vast underground, when a sudden thought occurred to Hermione.

“Why is it just the two of you searching for the center of the maze?”

Percy heaved a weary-sounding sigh. “It’s not. Annabeth and I got separated from the rest of our group before we found you.”

“Do you think they’re alright?”

“I’m sure Ty is watching out for Grover.” Hermione noticed he had a peculiar sort of smile on his face at that thought.

She saw his smile instantly vanish, to be replaced with guarded cautiousness. She glanced around, but saw nothing but stone statues that seemed to come out from the walls. Hearing the sound of metal on metal, she looked to see that Percy had drawn his sword.

“What’s the matter?” she asked frowning.

“Nothing,” he said slowly. “Just being cautious.”

“Why?” she said glancing around. She couldn’t see what had caused him to react the way he had.

“Look at the statues,” he murmured softly.

Frowning, she stepped closer to the closest statue and noticed that it was of a centaur. It was quite well done with fine attention to detail in the sinews of the muscles on its flank. It had been sculpted as if running, wisps of its hair seeming to fly behind him. It was quite impressive, the artist even seemed to carve protruding veins on its neck, as if straining to flee something — even his face was a mask of terror. Uncomprehending, she turned back to Percy and gave him a questioning look.

“Medusa,” was all he said.

Hermione felt the blood drain from her face and her body give an involuntary shiver as comprehension dawned. Looking back and forth through the corridor, she could tell that there were hundreds of similar-looking statues — all seemingly trying to flee from some unseen force.

Hermione had to swallow thickly as she felt bile rise in her throat. It was with a concerted effort that she stared straight ahead and not focused on the images of the bodies that they passed.

By the time they cleared the horrific corridor, Hermione released a shaky breath and took huge gulps of air.

“You ok?”

Hermione nodded, unable to forms words at the moment. She looked around at their surroundings, not understanding how they could go from a dry, sandy, stone decorated tomb to a large, dome shaped area that resembled more of a swamp with its dampness, trees, and lichen covered water.

There was a rustling sound in one of the trees, and the pair of them glanced up to look at a beautiful bird about the size of a crane. It had white luminescent feathers that seemed to glow in the unforeseen moonlight, — _and how could there be moonlight in a giant maze that’s underground?_ Hermione thought. The tips of its wings seemed to be the same color as its beak, it almost seemed as though the beak and wings were made of metal, the way they glinted in the light.

Hermione glanced at Percy and noticed him looking at the bird strangely, almost like he was trying to solve a puzzle. His face cleared a moment before a whizzing sound happened and he tackled her to the ground.

Hermione gave a painful gasp as she scraped her head on a fallen log on the ground. Glancing at the log, she noticed a razor-sharp feather sticking out of the wood, mere inches from where she had landed. Swallowing thickly, she looked to Percy.

“What is it?” she shrieked.

“Stymphalian birds,” Percy said grimly.

Hermione could not wait until she was back home and away from this madness. It had been a while since she had read anything about Greek mythology, but she vaguely remembered something about vicious man-eating birds with beaks and feathers made of bronze.

Another screech sounded followed by a _thump_ against the log, this one where her hand had been a split second before as she had used the log for leverage — _oh joy_.

Percy grabbed her by the waist and hauled her up, sprinting toward one of the trees to find them some cover.

“Watch out for their shit,” Percy said as he dodged another flying feather, “it’s poisonous.”

She couldn’t stop the whimper that came with the realization that he wasn’t joking.

A strong gust of wind made Hermione turn back as the sound of flapping wings increased. Hermione stared in horror, as Percy prepared to meet the half dozen Stymphalian birds that were suddenly soaring through the air towards them.

The birds broke off, half attacking Percy and the rest heading towards Hermione. She tried to duck out of the way, but she felt searing pain spread across her back as she fell to the floor. Gripping her wand tightly, she turned to face the vicious creatures as they turned to make another attack.

She could hear the sound of clashing metal and hoped that Percy was faring better than she was at the moment. She was more prepared for their speed this time around as they neared her.

“ _Immobulus!_ ”

One of the birds fell into the swamp water behind her, immobilized by her spell. The remaining birds gave an ear-splitting screech and caused Hermione to cast a quick _Protego_ , as a large onslaught of razor-sharp feathers flew towards her. The birds seemed to become even more enraged, as they began to claw at the barrier of her spell.

Her shield was strong, but Hermione was unsure of just how much longer she’d be able to keep it up — the slash on her back was starting to takes its toll.

First one, then the other were suddenly split in two, before their bodies dissolved into nothing more than mist. She looked up to meet Percy’s fierce gaze. Swallowing a sigh of relief, Hermione ended the spell and collapsed. She would have hit the ground if strong arms hadn’t wrapped around and lifted her.

“It’s ok, Hermione. Let’s get out of here.”

She held on as best she could with the pain in her back and allowed Percy to carry her out of the swamp chamber.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but they eventually found an empty rocky chamber. A trickle of water seemed to seep from the ceiling and pool in a crevice near the floor. Percy knelt down with Hermione still in his arms, and used the water and his gifts to heal her.

“Thank you,” she sighed as the water soothes the worst of her wounds.

Their brief moment of calm was interrupted by the thundering of footsteps. They both gripped their weapons — her wand and his sword — and turned to face the oncoming intruders.

Through a narrow opening in the opposite wall, a curly blonde head appeared before a bright red-head appeared moments behind her.

“Ron!” she exclaimed and hurled herself towards him. There was a moment of shock on his face before being enveloped by the bushy-haired witch. They held on tight to one another — Hermione burying her face in the crook of his neck, and Ron laying his head on hers and breathing her in deeply.

Hermione turned to look at Percy, who was blushing furiously as Annabeth seemed to be checking his whole body for any injuries.

She heard a throat clear at the far end of the room, and they all turned to face the person no one had noticed before.

“Who are you?” Ron asked threateningly, as he pointed his wand at the unknown man.

The man gave a strange smile that sent shivers down her spine.

“I am Tempus.”


	4. Chapter 4

Annabeth moaned as she rolled over to get her bearings. The last thing she remembered was Ron, pushing her out of the way of some falling debris from the ceiling. She grimaced in pain as she rolled off her back — it was too dark to see what was poking her.

She heard a moan come from somewhere to her right. Felling for the jolt of her dagger, she relaxed just a fraction. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Ron,” he groaned. She could hear movement and what sounded like tiny bones falling. She hoped to the gods that it wasn’t bones. Ron mumbled something and she was suddenly blinking in the bright light.

“Sorry,” Ron said, “I should have warned you.”

Blinking away the spots dancing behind her eyelids, Annabeth saw that what she thought were bones were actually pencils — millions and millions of mountains of pencils. Glancing around the largest chamber she had come across yet, there were enormous mounds made up entirely of pencils.

She noticed Ron looking around bewildered. Locking eyes with her, he seemed to look her over, then nod to himself. “Alright?”

“Yes.”

They made their way towards one another, then climbed down one of the pencil-made hills. Annabeth was pleased to note that the ground was compacted dirt — at least they wouldn’t have to try and make their way while walking on the flipping pencils.

They continued making their way through the expansive chamber, through valleys of pencils. Annabeth liked that Ron didn’t seem to question where they were going — _perhaps he has a reason why_ , she thought.

 "What else did that book of yours say?”

“What d’you mean?”

“Did it tell you anything specific about this place?”

“You mean the labyrinth?” he asked, then smirked when he saw her look of surprise. “The book gave a sort of brief overview of different... realms, I guess you could say — that could be found in your world,” he shrugged carelessly. “I just put two and two together and figured it out.”

“Impressive,” she said, then frowned in thought. “Why did your friends seem surprised that you’d know about this?”

“Well....” he started slowly, “I’m not the most studious of students. I can be pretty lazy and uninterested in a lot of my homework. But, if it’s something I’m really interested in? Then I don’t think even Hermione could out-study me on everything there was to learn on that subject.”

Annabeth gave him a small smile, “Well, I’m glad that this is something that interested you.” He turned away to hide a slight blush to his face

They rounded a particularly large mound, when they came across a large mostly empty clearing. There was a tall podium that resembled a judge’s bench and in the center of the space was what resembled an old fashioned witness’ stand.

Something felt off to Annabeth. Looking around she tried to place what was bothering her.

“Look!” Ron exclaimed. She looked to where he was pointing at. “There’s a way our of here.”

They both started to make their way towards the doorway behind the judge’s bench, when the mound of pencils behind it started to shift. Annabeth stared in dawning horror as the large creature emerged from the mass of writing utensils — a sphinx.

The Sphinx smiled down at the pair of them, all shining sharp teeth. She was quite large — standing at well over 12 feet — with her golden hair cascading down to almost reach the ground. The hair on her lioness body was a deeper shade of gold and her tail kept swishing back and forth — as if she was in the hunt. She took in a deep breath and her smile seemed widen even more.

“Well,” she breathed. “It’s been quite a while since I last had a wizard in my midst.”

Glancing at Ron, Annabeth saw him swallow thickly. She steeled her spine and approached the sphinx. “We wish to pass. I will answer your riddle.”

The creature seemed to eye them speculatively, before nodding her head. “If you can answer my questions, then yes.”

Annabeth gave Ron a reassuring smile, before heading to and stepping into the witness stand. She noticed him covertly pull out his wand and hold it close to his side. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to answer the riddle she knew was coming.

“Let’s start off easy,” she said. “What is the capital of Florida?”

“What? Aren’t you supposed to ask me the riddle?”

“Yes, Yes,” she said, as she waved a dismissive paw in the air, “that’s the whole problem. Everyone knows the answer to my riddle. So, I’ve decided to get answers to whatever I want to ask,” she finished with a devious smile.

“Why don’t you just ask another riddle?” Ron asked, not unreasonably.

She narrowed her bright yellow eyes at him, considering. “I suppose,” she said slowly, “I could make an exception just this once.... for you.”

Ron looked at her with started eyes. “I will give the wizard a riddle, and he must answer it — without any help from the daughter of Athena. That is my price to let you pass.”

Annabeth gave him a questioning look, to which he nodded grimly. Turning she answered, “We accept your terms.”

She stepped down and switched places with Ron. She couldn’t help the trepidation that ran through her when she saw him shifting from foot to foot in nervousness.

“Now, let’s see....” she said. She had a look of frowning consideration, before her brow cleared and she smiled down at Ron.

“ _Two bodies have I, though both joined in one. The longer I stand, the quicker I run!_ ”

Ron has a look of panic on his face as she finished her riddle. He seemed frozen in place, not even breathing, as far as Annabeth could tell. After a few minutes, the tension seemed to leave his body and a breathed out a heavy sigh.

The Sphinx had a look of triumph on her face, until Ron answered, “You’re an hourglass.”

Her face transformed into one of pure rage as she roared out her anger. The entire chamber seemed to quake beneath the noise, with thousands of pencils sliding down the enormous mounds. Annabeth’s ears were ringing with the sudden silence that followed.

She looked to see Ron standing beside her, his wand raised defensively, as he tried to hide her from the sphinx’s gaze. She didn’t need protecting, but her heart warmed at the gesture nonetheless.

They continued to stare, unsure if she would keep her word. Annabeth was beginning to wonder if she’d have to pull out her special baseball cap to escape with Ron from this place, when she suddenly laid down in a heavy heap.

Barely daring to breath, they crept around the sulking sphinx the where they’d spied the door earlier. They found not one, but three doorways.

“Which way is it,” Annabeth asked, as she turned around to look at the Sphinx.

She gave a lazy self-satisfied smile. “That’s for you to choose. I only said I’d let you pass if you answered my riddle, not tell you which way to go.”

Burying down a growl of frustration, she turned to look at their choices. All three doorways were completely identical — with wooden door frames, hard-packet ground, and no light to illuminate what might be beyond it.

She frowned as Ron walked and paused in front of each door, before to stand at her side again. “What were you doing?”

“I was seeing if they smelled any different from each other,” he said with a careless shrug. Annabeth hid it, but she was quietly impressed with his ingenuity. “Which one, do you reckon?”

Shrugging, “Let’s just pick one a hope for the best.”

Nodding, he stood in front of the middle door. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

They walked through the door frame to the other side and breathed out a sigh of relief when nothing immediately happened. The maniacal laughter from the Sphinx was the only warning they had before the tunnel began to shake and the roof started to collapse on top of them.

“RUN!” Ron screamed, as he grabbed onto her and thrust her before him.

They were all out sprinting, trying to outrun the falling rubble as well as to keep their footing — one false step and it would be over for the both of them.

The rumbling and dust began to clear after a while, and they were able to slow down and somewhat catch their breaths. They had just cleared a narrow opening when they heard someone yell.

“Ron!”

And suddenly there was a bushy-tailed girl flinging herself onto Ron, and holding on as if both their lives depended on it.

Annabeth looked away and Percy eyeing the couple with an unreadable expression on his face. Walking towards him she asked, “You ok?”

Nodding, Percy began explaining what had happened to them. When he got to the part about the Stymphalian birds, Annabeth couldn’t help but grab onto Percy to check that he really was alright. Although this gave her the excuse to touch him, she hid her longing and embarrassment by berating him.

She heard a throat clear at the far end of the room, and they all turned to face the person no one had noticed before.

“Who are you?” Ron asked threateningly, as he pointed his wand at the unknown man.

The man gave a strange smile that sent trepidation down her spine — she was really getting sick of all the games the gods lived to play.

“I am Tempus.”

There was a beat of silence... then, “As in time?” Hermione asked tentatively.

Tempus bowed his head graciously and smiled a kind smile at Hermione. Annabeth was a little stunned to see something so genuine cross a god’s face.

“It is time,” Tempus intoned, “for your journey into The Labyrinth to come to a close.”

“But,” Ron said shocked, “we can’t leave without Harry!”

“Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy have already been returned to your land and your time.”

“Our time?” Hermione asked bewildered.

“Hmm, yes. A.... friend, wanted the four of you to take this unexpected journey. Something about changing perceptions,” he finished with a dismissive hand.

“What time do they come from?” Annabeth asked.

“Daughter of Athena, you are but one year of age, from the time that they come from.”

Annabeth couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her mouth — it seemed the others couldn’t either since she heard similar sounds come from her companions.

Tempus gave a self-satisfied smirk and motioned to the wall at his right side. The wall seemed to shimmer and then melt away, revealing an opening from which to walk through.

“This will take you to where you are needed, little demigods, to continue your journey.”

He then pointed to his left side, and a similar opening occurred — this one seemed to have a sheer veil overhanging it. Soft sounds and mutterings could be heard through the veil, it caused goosebumps to spread across Annabeth’s skin.

She started when Percy reached out and held her hand in his own. “Time to go,” he murmured, turning to look at the witch and wizard.

Annabeth noticed they were also holding hands. “Safe journey,” she said. Ron nodded to them and pulled Hermione to him and crossed the threshold.

“They’ll be ok?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Tempus merely smiled, inclined his head, then disappeared altogether — leaving the two of them alone.

Percy smiled at her. “Ready to continue on your quest?”

Smiling back at him, she squeezed his hand before walking towards the opening — to her future adventure with Percy.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry was falling.

Again.

He looked to the floor that would be meeting him on impact, and saw nothing but blackness. Suddenly his fall was stopped and he was surrounded by freezing cold.... _water_.

He kicked as best he could with his water-soles clothes and breathed a crisp lung-full of air as his head broke the surface. He heard a similar noise beside him and squinted in the darkness to see who it was.

Fumbling for his wand he cast a _Lumos_ and saw that Draco squinting at him with the sudden light. He reached for his own wand and lot it as well.

Harry saw a shore not too far away and began swimming towards it, Draco following close behind. _When did I stop thinking of him as Malfoy_ , Harry thought.

They both climbed onto the shore and began to look around. Harry noticed that Draco wouldn’t meet his eyes. He sighed, remembering all the confessions that he had made earlier, and had a sudden thought.

“What’s your middle name?”

“Why would you want to know that?” Draco asked petulantly.

Harry gave a soft smile, “I don’t — not unless you want to tell me, that is. I was just seeing if the fountain water had worn off.”

“Oh,” he said softly, turning to hide a blush across his cheeks. “It’s Abraxas,” my mumbled.

Harry grinned and walked towards Draco. “Draco Abraxas Malfoy, I’m Harry James Potter. It’s nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand to him. Draco eyed his hand as though it might bite him and gave Harry a questioning look. “I figure we’ve both been right gits for a long time now. What do you say about starting over?”

Draco gave a small, but genuine smile and shook his hand. At the first contact, Harry felt a trail of heat start to spread across his body. Although he felt a blush creep up the back of his neck, he maintained eye contact with Draco — he was intrigued to see his blush turn a darker shade of red.

Clearing his throat, he turned to inspect their surroundings. They were in a large cavern with a huge lake in the center. The top of the cavern was smooth dark rock; there was no sign that there had ever been a hole through which they had fallen. The little beach they were on was made up of smooth rounded stones, the width of which was only about three meters wide. At the back of the beach, there was a jagged opening — the only way, Harry could see, that led out of this place.

“What d’you reckon?”

“I think that’s our best option,” Draco said, quickly eyeing the rest of the cavern.

Nodding, they walked through the opening together; it was just wide enough for them to walk side by side. The light from their wands started shaking, and Harry was nonplussed to realize that they were both still soaking wet.

Eventually the tunnel seemed to widen and they found themselves in the middle of a small chamber, with a cheery fire burning in the center.

They both hastened their step to get warm, but before they reached the fire, “Ah. I see you made it just in time.”

Harry and Draco spun around, wands raised in a defensive position.

The interloper was a middle-aged man with slate colored eyes, black hair graying at the temple, and wore what looked like a black toga. He had a serene smile and an open expression, but Harry was hesitant to trust anyone he found down here after being separated from the rest.

The stranger snapped his fingers and Harry’s and Draco’s clothes became dry. “You may still warm yourselves by the fire, if you wish,” he said.

Harry felt a tug on his arm and turned to Draco. He was looking at the way they had come from, but the opening was no longer there — just smooth rock.

The stranger cleared his throat again to gain their attention.

“I mean you no harm...” he paused, “my name is Tempus.”

He heard Draco breathe in a sharp gasp, “as in the Greek god of time?” he asked faintly.

“Yes.”

Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, but Tempus raises his hand to stop him. “How about I save us a bit of time?” Tempus chuckled at his own joke.

“I have brought you four here at the request of another — a favor that I had owed as been collected. You are currently out of place, but also of time; to discover some truths, that have made you blind,” he paused and gave them a grin. “Sorry, I sometimes like speaking in verse.”

“Who is this person you owed a favor to?” asked Draco.

“His name is Thanatos — and don’t worry — he means you know harm.”

“Of course, I don’t mean them any harm,” said another voice. They turned to look at the cloaked figure emerge from the shadows.

They couldn’t see his face, but Harry felt a shiver run through his body at the other god’s presence — Draco’s shudder beside him confirmed it wasn’t just him.

“And why would you want to meet us?” Harry asked. He felt Draco give another shudder and instinctively reached out and held his hand. He felt a warm feeling spread through his chest as Draco squeezed his hand.

Thanatos looked between the two, a pensive look on his face. “Things are going to.... change this year, Harry. I wanted to make sure that you don’t let appearances deceive you,” he frowned as Tempus pointedly cleared his throat. “I also wanted to meet you, Harry.”

“Why me?”

“Because a very long time ago, I knew one of you ancestors — he was an old friend of mine.”

“You did? Who was he?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.... it isn’t time for you to know yet.”

Harry looked at Draco, who seemed deep in thought. He seemed to give little shakes of his head, as though dismissing ideas as they came to him. Harry couldn’t help the small smile or the warm feelings he felt at this side of Draco — something he never thought even existed. If it weren’t for this strange night, he might not have either.

He turned back to Thanatos and gave a smile. “Thank you, sir.”

Although he still couldn’t see his face, he felt the god’s pleasure at his words.

“Time to go, I think,” murmured Tempus. “Don’t worry, your other friends will be along shortly,” and with that, he waved an arm and an arch doorway appear from within the wall. It had a sheer veil fluttering over the space, and Harry could hear murmured voices coming from beyond.

Gripping Draco’s hand tighter in his, he began to walk towards their exit.

“Oh, and Draco,” said Tempus before they reached the portal, “just because you’re in Slytherin, does not mean you cannot be brave.”

Draco gave him an unreadable look, then nodded his head. With that they stepped through the doorway and they found themselves falling.

_Again_.

*****

Draco gave a muffled yelp as he landed on a mossy ground — _at least this journey wasn’t as painful as the last_ , Draco thought.

Standing up, he started to swipe off the dirt from his clothes; sighing because he knew they were ruined beyond repair. He was procrastinating, he knew, but didn’t want to face Harry after what Tempus had said. He couldn’t help but turn when Harry started to speak.

“What do you have to be brave about?” he asked, not unkindly.

“Many things, Potter.”

“Harry.”

“What?”

“Call me Harry, Draco. I know this friendship is new, but it’s real — and real friends call each other by their first names.”

Draco couldn’t help but smile at his false logic, pleased that he might get the opportunity to...

“Alright, you prat,” he said softly, taking a step towards him. “Here’s one thing I’m going to be brave about.” He grabbed Harry by the shoulders, leaned into him, and pressed his lips against his.

Draco felt a moment of panic, as Harry just stood there, wide-eyed and frozen. He was just about to pull away, when Harry’s eyes fluttered closed and he seemed to melt into Draco — his warm lips tentatively kissing him back and his arms holding onto Draco’s waist.

They kissed each other with abandon, holding on to one another as if their next breath — next heartbeat — would not come without the other in their arms.

Draco could have happily stayed like this forever.

“What in the bloody hell is going on?!”

They broke apart and Draco came face to face with a furiously bewildered Weasley, and a blushing Granger who was trying to hide her smirk.

“You’re safe!” Harry gasped. Running a hand through his hair and turning a furious shade of scarlet.

“You’re in good hands as well, I see,” Granger quipped.

Draco felt a flicker of doubt when Harry continued to look at his two best friends — avoiding looking at him.

“Yes, I am,” he answered, and reached out a hand an intertwined their fingers.

Draco felt his heart pound frantically in his chest. He smiled at Harry and received a mirroring smile back. He let his smile widen as he looked back at Weasley.

“How did— “

“ _MORSMORDRE!_ ”

They all gasped as a huge, green skull with a protruding snake from its mouth, hovered in the air above them. There was popping sounds all around them and multiple shouts of _Stupefy!_

They all dove to the ground to avoid the spells. Draco could feel the heat of one pass by his left ear and into the dark forest beyond.

“Stop!” someone shouted. “That’s my son!”

Draco hesitantly looked up to find Mr. Weasley striding towards them, an odd mixture of worry and relief on his face.

“Are you all alright?” he asked, inspecting them for any injuries.

“Yes— “

“Which one of you did it? Which one of you conjured the mark?” asked a tightly strung wizard.

“Honestly, Barty. You can’t think one of them did it; they’re just children.”

“They were found at the scene— “

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” interrupted Draco. “We heard someone else conjured that, thing, and the next we knew, we were ducking from multiple stunning spells. We heard the voice coming from over there,” he finished, pointing to the area in which they’d heard the voice.

The wizard with the stick up his arse moved towards that area, leaving them along with Mr. Weasley and another wizard.

“You should be getting the children home, Arthur. Do you need someone to come with you to drop off the Malfoy boy?”

“No, thank you Amos,” he sighed. “They’re all coming home with me.” With that, he motioned for all of them to follow him. As they made their way away from the other witches and wizards, Draco pulled closer to Mr. Weasley.

“You’re taking me to your home?” he asked quietly, slightly confused that he wouldn’t be sent to the manor.

“It could be your home too, if you’d like,” Mr. Weasley said, just a softly.

Draco felt his heart falter at that prospect, if only he _could_ get away from the manor — and his father. Mr. Weasley just gave him a mysterious smile.

“What have you done?” he asked curiously.

“Don’t worry, Draco. With the help I received from your mother.... everything will work itself out. Until then, you don’t have to go back to that place if you don’t want to.”

Draco could only state in astonishment, an ember of hope sparking in his soul. He felt a warm hand interlace with his and turned to see Harry’s warm smile and smoldering emerald eyes.

“Everything will work itself out, Draco,” he said softly, before pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

With Harry here beside him and the hope of freedom, Draco couldn’t do anything but believe him.


End file.
